Damage caused by termites in buildings and timber structures in general are often caused by subterranean termites coming through galleries they dig in the ground from their colony nests to timber in dwellings. Once they reach it, they destroy it by chewing to on it and eventually they take the chewed fibres back to their colonies. Current termite detection techniques are applied inside the structures and therefore are post-attack techniques. The problems associated with termites attacking wood in dwellings are well known. There are other pests that burrow in wood, such as the European House. Borer Beetle. When active, these pests make sounds that humans may not be readily able to detect, however these sounds can still be detected with acoustic instruments and used to indicate the presence of the pest.
Known acoustic detection devices and systems include the use of infrared and acoustic detection in a hand-held device such as described at http://www.termatrac.com. This device however, requires the presence of a skilled person and is used very seldom or too late since they are used to check the presence of termites inside premises.
Alternatively, recent in-ground techniques using termite's ‘food’ probes are placed around structures. These also require regular human intervention to visually inspect the probes. In these systems, residents are expected to regularly check the probes visually around the dwelling. It is however often reported that they do it in the first few weeks/months and then cease for different reasons. In other cases the probes get covered by leaves, dirt or become inaccessible or difficult to check. Examples of these are the Green Eye (http://www.greeneyealert.com), ReKon termite treatment systems and Exterra (http://www.exterra.com.au).
The present invention seeks to provide an alternative acoustic pest detection system and method.